Jack London
Jack London was born under the name John Griffith Chaney in San Francisco, California. He was deserted by his father and raised by his mother and stepfather in Oakland, California. He took the surname of his stepfather, London, and used it throughout his life. He quit school at the age of 14 to explore the world and live an adventurous life. London became an experienced sailor and traveled all over the world. He later attended the University of California at Berkeley for a year before giving school up to seek a fortune in the Klondike.# After his return from the Klondike, London's financial situation was grim. He wrote to magazines asking if they would accept his stories from the Klondike and was constantly rejected. When the Atlantic Monthly, a premier magazine at the time, finally accepted him he was given great self-confidence. He wrote a thousand words per day, six days per week.# From this point forward London "had set not only the routine but also the style that would remain essentially unchanged throughout the rest of his career."# London went on to become the wealthiest writer of his time and a great American author#. One of his greatest works is The Call of the Wild. Jack London's The Call of the Wild is a
This point is critical in the book for it is here that we see that Buck is not just an ordinary dog, he possesses a quality that allows him too triumph over all the other dogs. This resembles a human spirit that is possessed by everyone, yet few are able to use it to become elevated in society. "# With this statement London goes furthers the human allegory and actually personifies Buck. It was harder to kill a husky dog than them. Through Buck, London parallels human emotion and the reader can relate and share in the human feelings that are experienced by this not-so-human dog. He does not appear again but lives in the wild alone and is known by the Yeehats as a ghost dog. This is the point in the novel where the human characteristics of Buck can most clearly be seen. This is the first stage, a stage of innocence in Buck's life that can be compared with the birth and infancy of any human. The rest of his team is dying around him and the only thing that is keeping him from quitting is his unbreakable spirit. London tries to make this situation similar to that of a time in a person's life when there is great despair and the only thing that can save them is their own will to go on. # This is the third stage where Buck matures in his life resembling humans maturing. In the final paragraph of The Call of the Wild London describes Buck returning yearly to the place of John Thornton's death where he lets out a long mournful howl. Through Buck, Jack London reveals things about himself and every human being.
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